Storms in Texas, Oklahoma reminders to prepare for natural disasters

United States President Barack Obama warned that the recent deadly flooding in Texas and Oklahoma is a reminder that the US needs to toughen its response to the effects of natural disasters.

The president added that climate change is affecting both the pace and intensity of storms, according to a White House statement.

Obama said that the best scientists in the world have told him that extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, are likely to become more powerful.

He spoke one day after government weather forecasters predicted six to 11 storms would occur this season, with three to six of them developing into hurricanes. That suggests that this year's hurricane season might be slower than average when, from 1981 to 2010, 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes occurred each year. The storm season begins Monday.

Storms and severe flooding in Texas and Oklahoma this week left 21 people dead and some 10 others missing.
Source: UPI